


never had a brother before

by delightwrites



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Families of Choice, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, and then did not wait for an answer, brothers of choice, early in season 3, like around the headband or something, sokka asked is no one gonna adopt this tiny airbender as a little brother
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:15:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24505264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delightwrites/pseuds/delightwrites
Summary: There's a storm and thunder and lightning and all that. Aang freaks out and Sokka tries his best to help because that's just what big brothers do. And because he's (not so secretly) a big softie.
Relationships: Aang & Sokka (Avatar)
Comments: 26
Kudos: 281





	never had a brother before

**Author's Note:**

> this is short, i'm sorry, but hopefully the emotions make up for it???  
> anyways, hope you enjoy

The girls have gone on a supply run, leaving Aang and Sokka behind, not long before the storm hit.

Their hideout is in the mountains that surround the town, a cave just big enough to fit Appa, close to the highest peak. The storm rages on and Sokka and Aang draw closer together.

"I hope Katara and Toph are alright," Aang mumbles.

A lightning strikes somewhere. Thunder immediately follows.

"Hey, don't worry about them," Sokka elbows his side. "They are just the best waterbender and earthbender in the world. What's a little storm to them?"

Another lightning. It's close by.

Aang gulps. There's a terrible feeling creeping up on him. But Sokka is optimistic so it's probably all alright.

"Yeah, you're right," Aang says, nodding. Sokka pokes the fire with a stick, looking almost bored, meanwhile Aang doesn't understand why he can't seem to relax his shoulders.

The next lightning strikes just outside the opening of the cave where they set up their makeshift camp.

Both boys scream as they are hurled back a few feet by the force that shakes the ground right where the lightning hits it. Aang is blinded by the sudden brightness and-

And something else is also really, really wrong.

He forces his eyes opens and stumbles to his feet, hitting the cave's wall with his back.

And it hurts but somehow it's more than that because his lungs also hurt and his insides hurt. It feels like Aang is burning from the inside.

His heart is racing like crazy and his mind barely registers his hand reaching to clutch his chest, trying to squeeze away the pain he feels. Or the one he remembers feeling. Is he back in that cave in Ba Sing Se?

No, that can't be, no. He was with-

A voice speaks but it doesn't get through to him.

It doesn't, because the thunder is ringing in his ears too loud, joined by only the pounding of his heart and Aang suddenly can't remember how to breathe. And that's stupid because he's an airbender but he’s hurting and he feels like he’s dying and there are no airbenders left anyway.

The voice calls again and this time, it almost sounds like it's calling his name.

Somebody grabs his shoulders and shakes him, lightly, but Aang's entire body is violently shaking anyway so it doesn't make that much of a difference.

"Aang!" the voice says. "Aang, buddy, you gotta snap out of this!"

He hears it this time but he can't, he can't just snap out of it because he's burning and he's dying and he can't. Whoever's voice this is, how can they not see that he can't?

He tries to say it too, through heaving breaths, but no voice comes out.

"Aang, listen!" The voice sounds worried, panicked but he can't, he can't, he can’t, he thinks, because he can't even breathe and he's burning from the inside and he's slipping.

His eyes catch the sight of his own trembling hands and he doesn't know if his tattooes glow or it's just light reflecting from the lightning.

The lightning-

"Aang, can you hear my voice? Focus on my voice, okay?"

Sokka?

Sokka, he wasn't... he wasn't there, he-

"Listen, you're okay. I know you're scared but it was just a lightning and you are okay... "

Aang didn't even realise when he fell to his knees but he's on the ground now and the arms that were gripping his shoulders now pull him closer. Aang feels himself pressed up against Sokka's chest, so close that through the ringing of his ears and loud thumping of his own heartbeat, he can hear his friend's too.

"Hey, just focus on my heartbeat, alright? I heard that helps, I have no idea but let's try, okay?" Sokka murmurs, now closer to his ear. "But you're okay, everything's okay... "

"N-no," Aang struggles the word out between two shallow inhales.

"Yeah, no, I can see that," Sokka huffs a laugh. "But I've got you, okay?"

Aang nods weakly and buries his face in Sokka's shirt. He only now notices the tears rolling down on his own cheeks. When did he start crying?

"Look, Aang, can't you slow down with the breathing, buddy?" Sokka asks quietly, then takes a deep breath in. Aang can feel the rise and fall of his chest. "Y'know I'm not an expert at meditating but I've seen you do it a thousand times so maybe try like me, huh? In. Out. In. Out."

Sokka repeats it a couple of times and Aang follows him, adjusting his breathing to match his friend's. Air fills his lungs and he feels lighter, the weight of his chest, the burning from the inside slowly fading and Aang feels safe.

-

Aang has dozed off, probably pretty exhausted after what happened and Sokka has decided to follow suit. His arm's gone numb under the weight of his friend - a weight that's alarmingly a lot less than how Sokka remembers from before Ba Sing Se and Azula's lightning strike - but he doesn't move it, not wanting to wake Aang.

Sokka only wakes up when the storm has already calmed down and the girls arrive back from grocery shopping, soaked to the bone and complaining about how they couldn't even use their bending against the rain because they couldn't draw any attention to themselves.

"Aww look at you!" Katara says as she sees the boys and even Sokka's years of experience as her brother can't help him decide if she's being sarcastic or not. "Aren't they cute, Toph?"

"Bleh, this is so cheesy," says Toph. "When's the wedding, Sokka?"

Sokka glares at her for a few seconds before he remembers she can't see that.

"Cut it, Toph!"

"Why, Katara's right, you two boys are super cute cuddling!" The earthbender laughs and even Katara chuckles. Traitor, Sokka thinks.

"We are not boys cuddling!" he protests, passive-aggressively hugging Aang tighter. "We are warriors uh... supporting each other."

Aang stirs and Sokka finally moves his numb left arm. Oh spirits-

"Sokka?" Aang mumbles sleepily. "Wha's happening?"

"The girls are back and Toph thinks we should get married."

"Wha-" Aang jumps up with a blast of air. He's gaping, not finding the words to say but at least he looks better now that he's not shaking and hyperventilating.

"Relax, Twinkletoes," Toph laughs and she probably feels something was off while they were gone because she supportively punches Aang's arm.

"Ow," says the Avatar, master of four elements and last hope of the world, awkwardly rubbing his arm.

"You napped long enough Sokka, and the storm's also gone, now could you help please, and collect wood for the fire?" Katara asks, busying herself with packing out their supplies.

"Sure," sighs Sokka.

"I'll come too!" Aang offers helpfully and Sokka gestures him to tag along.

They climb down from the highest peaks towards the woods in silence, careful not to slip on the muddy ground.

"Sokka?" Aang is hopping on the weathered rocks by the path. He stops and balances himself and Sokka really gets why Toph likes to call him Twinkletoes. "Thank you for... for helping me, just then... And I'm sorry if I scared you."

"Come on, don't say that," Sokka says nonchalantly but he crouches down to pick up a few branches off the ground and to avoid Aang's gaze. "I _was_ scared but just because I was worried about you."

Aang sits down on the rock, pulling his knees up.

"I know," he mutters. "Sokka? I'm-... How am I going to face the Fire Lord if I'm so scared of a lightning?"

Sokka looks up at Aang. He seems small there, on that rock, like when he was held in Sokka's arms just a couple of hours ago. Yes, Sokka is worried about him but he also knows Aang well enough.

"You'll be fine, Aang," he says confidently. "You're the bravest person I know."

Aang lowers his head between his knees.

"I'm not sure about that."

"Well, I am." Sokka shrugs, then changes to a mocking adult-voice to lighten the mood. "And don't you argue with your elders, young man!"

"Elders?" Aang scratches the back of his neck and makes a serious thinking face, barely containing a grin. "I'm ninety-seven years older than you, I could send you to your room!"

He giggles and Sokka can't help but burst out laughing.

"I’ve got it! Why don't you send the Fire Lord to his room???"

Aang laughs so hard at the thought Sokka wonders how he still hasn't fallen off that rock. It is simply ridiculous to imagine but they can’t help it, both of them have tears in their eyes from laughter. When they both stop to catch their breaths, Sokka thinks about scraping off the wood he's dropped but he comes to the conclusion that it can wait. He walks over to Aang instead and sits on a rock next to his friend.

"I mean it, though," he says seriously now.

Aang hesitates for a few seconds but then nods.

"Thank you, Sokka. For everything."

"Nah," Sokka waves it off because really, it's no big deal. "It's nothing. Just what big brothers do."

He glances at Aang, surprised to see the boy's grey eyes go wide as two saucepans.

"What?" Sokka asks, afraid he's said something weird. "That really is what we do, you know, take care of our little brothers 'n' sisters... "

That's at least something he _can_ do, Sokka thinks. He might not be an amazing bender like the rest of them, but he can do this.

"I know, I just... " Aang trails off, as if something curious just occurred to him. Then he turns to Sokka. "Does that mean I'm your little brother?"

Sokka smiles.

"You're ninety-seven years older than me, remember?" he asks teasingly and he ruffles Aang's hair - spirits, that's something he's been waiting so long to do. Katara hates her hairdo getting messed up, Toph would probably rather break some fingers than let anyone touch her hair and Aang just didn't use to have any. But he does now and that makes him the perfect victim for Sokka's hair-ruffling.

"Hey!" Aang laughs and shoves Sokka's hand away. The teen leans back and sighs.

"Of course you are," he answers genuinely this time.

Aang grins but a second later, he looks serious again. Sokka still doesn’t understand how he does that.

"There's just one problem," Aang says slowly. "I've never been a brother before... How do you do that? What am I supposed to do?"

"You know," Sokka smiles. "I think you're already doing great."

“Thanks Sokka," Aang says solemnly. "You too.”

“Hah, you could tell that to Katara too,” Sokka laughs. “But thank you.”

They sit in silence for a while. The air still carries the smell of the storm but the small Fire Nation town in the valley by their feet is at peace and the moon shines sweetly at the two of them.

"Come on, let's get back to the girls," Sokka stands up and offers his hand to help Aang up. The boy takes it, clasping Sokka's forearm in a traditional Water Tribe greeting, all while beaming his widest smile at him.

Yeah, they’re doing great.

**Author's Note:**

> so this whole thing just sprang from the idea that aang would be scared of lightnings for a while after he wakes up and then at 1 am at night i woke up to actually write it down and it turned into this?? okay
> 
> it's my first fic for this fandom but these characters mean so much to me, i can't even begin to express my love for them
> 
> if you enjoyed, kudos and comments are greatly appreciated ^^
> 
> come find me on tumblr @afuckindelighttobearound


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